georgek54

Ready to upgrade wheels and I need some advice...please help, thanks!

georgek54

BTW..cruiser is a 2008 Kulana Moon Dog converted to single speed. ( Wal-Mart special!!)

surreal

What's your budget? Are you keeping the rim brakes, or...? What are your goals with the wheels, what tires do you intend to run, etc...?

rebel1916

Don't bother. Get a hybrid if you wanna spend money on performance upgrades.

surreal

I respectfully disagree; a hybrid is as much of a "performance" vacuum as a cruiser is. That being said, whatever bike you love, it makes perfect sense to me to find ways to hotten it up, so long as your expectations are somewhat realistic.

rebel1916

Yeah, I realized after I posted that it was brobably the cruiser forum and it might be taken the wrong way. I guess my point is, add whitewalls to a cruiser, yep. Cool looking bars, yep. Flame paint, yep. Basket and bell, yep. Start talking about dropping coin on lighter wheels, and you might well be getting into a territory where the coin would be better dropped elsewhere.

georgek54

Running front vbrake only, budget maybe $250. I love my kenda kommuter tires, but would appreciate less rolling resistance with lighter wheels. Cranks next, then seat/seatpost. Thanks

catonec 

Im w/rebel on this one %100. I would not put performance/weight weenie money into this bicycle.

My reasoning is that you will spend hundreds of dollars and it will still be just a heavy single speed beach cruiser.

obviously you're going to spend your money however you want but my opinion is that it would be foolish to do so.

ilikebikes

Dude, what the OP is saying is a hybrid makes for a ****ty racer just as much as a cruiser does, but not only is it his cruiser to do with as he wishes but its also a favorite of his. That being said as long as he keeps the alterations within what he considers reasonable he'll make what ever alterations he thinks it may need. Money will be spent but it will be a learning experience and a ton of fun to build and ride.

georgek54

Thanks very much. I have 4 other pro-road bikes and enjoy the cruiser for a mellow ride on the Pinellas Trail near Clearwater Florida. I was gonna throw some $$$ into a fashion fixie, but there are so many of them. I think it would be cool to own a sleeper cruiser. Anyways, anyone have some ideas for a wheelset???

surreal

First off, drop your budget to $225 and put a rear brake on it.

Is it spaced at 135mm? Are you committed to SS? I'd build some Surly hubs into some nice alloy rims. I prefer fat-n-beefy to lightweight, so I'll leave rim selection to you, although I'm a big fan of Sun Estates. Prolly not too light, though....

These'd look trick, with some spacers and a single cog $229 at pricepoint.com.

georgek54

thanks, I am currently looking for rear brake ( purchased as is ). Nice wheel-set, better do some measuring and go from there...thanks lots!!!!

surreal

Mostly, you'll want to measure the space between the rear drop-outs

1FJEF

Rear O.L.D is 135mm on that bike when new.
The single wall 25mm wide no-name factory rims are very light, if my memory serves, the last one I checked off an old parts bike was well under 400g.
The bike weighs between 37 & 41lbs, doesn't it?
So I'm not sure what you could do that would look good & be higher performance, almost any double wall 559 rim is going to weigh more that the existing rim, maybe a rim set for 23mm tires, but cruisers look a bit odd with razor blade rims & tires.
A lighter hub/cog combo would shave some weight. You could have a single speed rear hub laced with some great looking rims. I mean it would look great & have better build quality.
There's a guy on the West Coast, Mr Rabbit, that will build them for you & be well within your budget, I believe he's closed until January, don't pay attention to his website, contact him & he'll do something custom for you. I've found him honest, he can do bolted or QR, loose ball or cartridge bearings, your rim or his, etc, etc...

Not a Single, but this is my Sun Retro-7 rear he fashioned for me. Scary dead nuts true after 1430 miles with my 265lbs.

surreal

What gauge are those spokes, 1fjef?

1FJEF

You have a good eye. They are 13/14 single butted Stainless Steel. The entire spoke looks thick due to the lighting. Chain guard removed for clarity. The chain stay guard was pried off by some idiot.

rebel1916

They sure do. They can make great round town bike though. And throwing good money after bad ain't gonna change the design parameters of the bike. But WTH,it's a toy. Play with it however makes you happy.

Rollfast

I don't understand the people saying cruisers are slow as tree sloths...you just don't like to haul like the devil until it hurts...bring on the lycra shorts...I will give it a go (!)

I am 250 and not 17 anymore but why bother if the tires don't wear out?

surreal

Sapim?

I just ordered some 13g Sapims for my truck i'm building...was thinking about going with the 13/14 SB for my Genuine..........

deeth82

I'd be interested to see how the OP's upgrades turn out. To me, cruisers are all about being tanks with style, but with that being said, I'm building up a Schwinn Sid from the parts bin (sort of a cruiser/town bike hybrid), and I'm sure a lighter, faster cruise is possible. Keep us posted!

Nightshade

Some people really don't understand just what a "Cruiser" is.

fietsbob

Hand made cruiser looking frames out of thin wall high strength tubing are produced ..

swoopy curves and all that ..

you will have a lighter wallet too.. but a really nice bike ..

surreal

Heck, yes.... Retrotec, anyone?

fietsbob

IE : https://ingliscycles.com/

GP

If you can get away from the classic cantilever frame look, convert an old mountain bike to a cruiser. Strip everything off the frame, file off the cable guides, give it a Krylon paint job, put new cruiser wheels and tires on, replace the stock saddle with a big cruiser saddle and put some swept back bars on. The wheels should run about $100, tires and tubes $50, saddle $25 and bars $25.